Shangri-La Hotels buys into Brisbane

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has capped a busy buying spree by snapping up the Holiday Inn Brisbane for about $48 million.

Shangri-La will rebrand the 191-room property above the Brisbane Transit Centre as its first Traders Hotel in Australia.

The move follows the group’s record-breaking $330 million acquisition of the landmark 563-room Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney last Friday. It took a 55 per cent stake in The Marina, in Cairns, last year.

The Hong Kong-based group noted that Brisbane was a feeder destination for other cities. “The decision to fully acquire and manage Traders Hotel, Brisbane is in line with Shangri-La’s financial commitment and long term vision for Australia," the group said.

The Australian Financial Review flagged the sale of the 13-storey hotel last November. The hotel was sold by Transit Centre co-owners, the GPT Wholesale Office Fund and the Lend Lease-managed APPF Commercial. The deal could be a catalyst for the sale of the remaining $150 million in office assets at the same site. Craig Collins, Dean Humphries and Peter Harper of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels handled the sale.